Where to see spring blossoms in Montréal

With over 75 hectares of garden space, the Jardin botanique boasts an impressive variety of blooming flowers, plants and trees, both outdoors among their beautiful trails and in their indoor greenhouses year-round. You can consult their calendar online to plan your visit when your favourites are flowering. 

To get you started:

🌷 Tulips from April to May

🪻Hyacinths from April to May

🌸 Cherry trees in May

🌼 Daisies from June to September

🌻 Sunflowers from July to September

🌺 Hibiscus from July to September

🌹 Roses from July to October 

🪷 Lotuses from August to September

Mount Royal Park is an obvious destination in spring, less for blooming flowers as for the 

90-plus species of burgeoning trees you’ll find in the park, many of which date back over 100 years old. Les Amis de la Montagne provide guided tours about the therapeutic benefits of the mountain and its 700 species of plant, from spring through to fall. 

Among the trees you can discover:

• Sugar maple
• Red oak 
• Bitternut hickory
• American beech
• White birch
• White pine
• Horse chestnut
• Shagbark hickory
• Common hackberry

While you’re in the area, stroll through Mount Royal Cemetery and Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery, a favourite spot for fans of blossoming magnolia, lilac and crabapple trees. There are also ginkgo biloba trees on view.

To enjoy classical garden styling, visit the grounds of Saint Joseph’s Oratory, which has both formal French-style gardens and informal English inspired flower beds. The grounds are in bloom starting in early May and throughout the summer. Follow the Way of the Cross path to discover a dreamy garden with a stunning fountain and 42 large limestone statues set in treed islets linked by winding paths.

Discover these saintly species onsite:

• Douglas firs
• A ginkgo biloba 
• A rare amur cork tree
• An ancient bitternut hickory
• Over 20 sorts of shrubs
• More than 60 varieties of perennial plants
• Around 85 varieties of annual flowers

🌟 Among the ornamental plants on the Oratory grounds you’ll also find a notable variety of iris: the Frère André Iris, developed to honour the Oratory’s founder. It blooms twice in a season, in early June and again in September, and has striking white, lavender and violet petals. 

Some fun facts about the garden:

1. The space was originally a kitchen garden used by the hospitalières to feed both their community and patients
2. In addition to beautiful flower beds, the garden includes a large orchard, unusual for an urban garden in Montréal
3. It houses the chapelle de l’Immaculée-Conception, a small neo-Gothic chapel designed by architect Victor Bourgeau
4. Because the garden lies behind monastery walls and is part of a heritage site, you usually need to book in advance to go in
5. Its walled design makes it feel like a unique retreat in the heart of the bustling Plateau neighbourhood

Where to go to bring your blossoms home

Longing to bring some of spring’s beauty into your home? Make pick-your-own-tulips a part of your springtime ritual. Starting in mid-May, you can fill up on flowers and sunshine at the (ultra-’grammable!) tulip fields in either Laval or Brossard (reservation required).

Want bouquets everyday? These spots prioritize local blooms:

💐 Oursin Fleurs: Prioritizes local seasonal flowers and even offers bike delivery with an eco focus

💐 Mtl Flower Co.: Offers bouquets made with flowers sourced from farms within about an hour of Montréal, so arrangements truly showcase local blooms that change with the seasons

💐 Dragon Flowers: This Mile End institution offers bouquets that often feature seasonal picks

💐 Le Jardin de Mathilde: Makes bouquets made mainly with flowers from places like Hemmingford and Saint-Cuthbert during the summer